It’s been said by some that Occupy Denver does not give the Denver Police Department the respect they deserve. To that end we would ask what respect should we give to a violent and patriarchal institution that serves only those in power and uses threats of rape to try to intimidate into silence those who dissent? DPD has no respect for the people whom they purport to “protect and serve” nor any allegiance to the constitution for which they “swore” an oath to uphold. DPD has a long and ongoing history of violence, corruption, operating with impunity and zero accountability. At Denver’s Restore The Fourth Amendment March on July 4th Dist. 6 Officer Mark Moore assaulted a woman by running into her, and over her foot with a motorcycle. DPD then wrongfully arrested her, and one other person. This is not the first time Officer Moore has done this. On October 14th 2011 he ran over another protestor’s foot with a motorcycle. For more info on this thug please visit West Denver Copwatch. For videos of the protest click here and here.

On July 5th 2013 at approximately 5:45 p.m. Catherine Keffer arrived at Boycott the Palm. Here is Catherine’s account:

“There were already several other protesters actively expressing their disapproval of The Palm’s support of the Urban Camping Ban. There were also approximately 7 DPD officers and Sgt. Ortega present. Myself and Alex Pickruhn were on the corner of 17th and Arapahoe holding a banner and passing out fliers.

We walked back around to the main protest area. As we walked by there were 4 officers on motorcycles. They were met with verbal frustrations over their continued misconduct and abuse of power. One officer said to Mr. Pickruhn, ‘I hope that your mother is raped so that I can respond to the call to help her.’

We continued to protest at The Palm until approximately 9:20 p.m. at which point we left to walk down the 16th Street Mall towards the ArtWalk. We noticed two officers in a cruiser that had been parked at Boycott the Palm. They noticed us, made eye contact and continued driving. We saw them turn around on the mall and begin following us, but they were still a block away so we were unsure what they were doing. As we were crossing the crosswalk, the same cruiser sped up past us and turned into the next alleyway. We continued walking. As we approached the alley one of the officers lunged at us, grabbing Mr. Pickruhn saying “come here”. Mr. Pickruhn was forced to the ground, put in handcuffs and taken into the alley, out of visible sight. They immediately searched him and all of his possessions, forming a wall of officers to block what was happening in the alley from me and any other people walking by.

While all of this was happening Sgt. Ortega pulled up in a cruiser, parked in the middle of the mall and approached me, attempting to grab my wrist. I immediately put my hands up and asked repeatedly if I was being detained. Sgt. Ortega only said that I was with someone who threatened his officer and that I could be detained but they never actually detained me. I was told that if we would have conducted ourselves more “professionally” this wouldn’t be happening. I was also told that Sgt. Ortega and other officers would harass me as long as I continued to conduct myself in this manner. My wallet was in the backpack that was being carried by Mr. Pickruhn at the time. Sgt. Ortega asked if I wanted it back but demanded an apology for my behavior in order to get it.

Upon searching Mr. Pickruhn, the officers found marijuana which he is legal to have. The Denver officers claimed that it was for distribution and arrested him. They also seized all of our money, which wasn’t very much, and put it in evidence rather than in his personal property. Mr. Pickruhn was arrested and transported to the Denver City Jail.

At approximately 12:55 a.m. I was on the 16th street mall charging my phone in hopes of accepting Alex Pickruhn’s call from jail. As I sat there alone, the 2 officers on motorcycles that were there earlier at Boycott the Palm, one of them is Officer McGrail and the other unknown, drove up, parking approximately 5 feet from where I was sitting. They stayed there, stared at me, wouldn’t say anything to me and didn’t leave until after I left with a concerned friend who had walked up.

At approximately 1:15, July 6th, I spoke with Alex Pickruhn via video phone at the city jail. Mr. Pickruhn told me he was threatened by DPD that they were going to find me and “get me alone”, while he was in jail the night before. Knowing that i am his girlfriend, it was clear what they were implying. I have safe places to stay and friends. I am actively seeking assistance in raising $350 to post bond tonight so that he will be released tomorrow morning after going through pretrial services. Any other donations for legal costs would be greatly appreciated”

Alex Pickruhn has no official charges against him, he is being held on $2000 bail for felony investigation for possession with intent to distribute when he was originally stopped for allegedly verbally threatening an officer even though the only threats came from the police officers themselves. He has told the Occupy Denver Legal Support Team that he is being mistreated in jail and is concerned for his safety. We are collecting funds to post bond and get him released as quickly as possible. Please click here for our legal fund donation page if you are able to help.

The 2 arrested during the Restore the 4th March were released on bond thank you to everyone who donated!

Whether you are protesting the erosion of our rights both constitutional and innate, or boycotting a classist restaurant that supported making homelessness illegal there is no excuse for us to allow DPD or any “law enforcement” to threaten, harass, and assault members of the community. If DPD can’t get their cops under control then police abolition is inevitable. When the corporately run government can decide they can overrule your rights, we can decide to overrule the government.

Chicagoans Gather to Protest Budget Cuts, Corporate Welfare, Call for One Term Mayor

This 4th of July, Chicagoans opposed to Mayor Emanuel’s extreme budget cuts to public services, and policies of corporate welfare, will peacefully converge at the Mayor’s house, at 4228 N Hermitage, to speak out against these austerity measures and celebrate citywide resistance to his mayorship.

"At a time when working people are already struggling to make ends meet, Mayor Emanuel is eliminating thousands of jobs across the city every year," says Greg Goodman, event organizer. "The loss of these jobs throws families and communities even further into crisis, and creates a chain effect that ripples out to negatively impact an ever growing number of Chicagoans. In the midst of all this, Rahm is systematically dismantling the social programs that ordinary people rely on to help them through times of crisis, and selling our public institutions and resources off to corporate profiteers."

After gathering at Chase Park (Ashland and Leland) at 12pm on July 4th, Chicagoans fed up with Mayor Emanuel’s austerity plans will hold a peaceful block party on his street (4200 block of Hermitage). The event will include music, dancing, and speakers.

"People who are barely getting by are being punished for the mistakes of the super-rich," says local organizer Kelly Hayes. "That's what austerity is. We're going to let Mayor Emanuel know we didn't create this crisis, and we're not going to pay for it."

Restore the Fourth is a growing grassroots movement organizing nationwide pro-privacy rallies for July 4th, 2013. With July 4th just around the corner, we took the opportunity to interview Jett —a national organizer— to find out more about what's up with #restorethe4th.

First, an open-ended question: what does Restore the Fourth mean to you personally?

To me, Restore the Fourth is symbolic. The protests are taking place on July 4th, a date that commemorates the founding of a new country with new ideals free from oppression. Privacy rights aren’t only respected when the government feels like it, and they can’t simply be thrown away in the name of stopping crime. They’re universal, inherent to every person, American or not.

Do you see Restore the Fourth as only about Edward Snowden and PRISM, or is it about broader issues of privacy and state surveillance?

While Restore the Fourth as a movement was first created in light of Snowden and the NSA’s PRISM scandal, we were never intended to be specifically about that. We’re dedicated to focusing on overarching issues of privacy, both digitally and in the real world.

People of color are unjustly targeted through programs such as "stop and frisk" and the extensive monitoring of Arab and Muslim communities. Are these issues for Restore the Fourth?

Policies and tactics such as ‘stop and frisk’, that are employed by various police forces, are very much a concern for our organization. They’re arguably in violation of the 4th amendment of the United States, which protects from unreasonable searches and seizures. I believe that, moving forward, these may very well be issues at the forefront of our minds.

What would you say to occupiers and other activists who have been victims of intense federal, police, and even corporate surveillance?

Protect yourself. You may not be able to shake the surveillance, but you will be able to take steps in protecting yourself, your family and your private life from unnecessary surveillance. Secure your communications, strengthen your passwords, and check out http://prism-break.org/ for some privacy-secure alternatives to popular software.

Restore the Fourth is an American-based movement, but the U.S. and other nations are engaged in widespread surveillance of non-Americans all over the world. How do you feel we should go about building global solidarity around privacy rights?

As I’ve mentioned previously, I believe that there are a certain set of rights inherent to all humans on this planet - privacy and safety from surveillance being one of them. On a global level, it’s a bit more difficult to secure privacy rights, specifically because different jurisdictions have different laws and customs. Ideally, a network of support would be the best - people in China fighting for privacy rights with those in America supporting them, and vice versa.

Anonymous, anarchists, occupiers, and others are also planning diverse actions for July 4th. How do you distinguish Restore the Fourth as a tactical approach? Do you expect Restore the Fourth rallies will be safe events for people looking to avoid police violence and arrest?

Being non-partisan, Restore the Fourth doesn’t officially endorse any other groups, but we very much welcome their support. So far, we’ve worked very closely with occupiers, and their support has been tremendous. I fully expect the protests to be safe for people of any affiliation from arrest, so long as no acts of violence occur.

In addition to turning out for Thursday’s rallies, what else can people do to show support and get involved? Are there any resources you'd like to share?

There are many things that people can do to help out our movement - spread the news on social media (Facebook, Twitter, etc.), share our hashtag (#RestoreThe4th), or simply tell your friends and family. We also have a page of resources on our website with flyers/posters/etc. if you’d like to get involved that way:
http://www.restorethefourth.net/resources/

It looks like we’ll see a good turnout Thursday, but what happens after July 4th? Are there further actions being planned?

This movement started only a few weeks ago, and since then we've experienced exponential growth and progress. Since the movement is still very young, plans diverge in the long term on what we hope to achieve. Personally, I'd like to see a combination of legislative and litigative action (something like what the ACLU does), and others want to see further plans of action. With organizations such as the BORDC, stopwatching.us and the EFF behind us, I feel that we can achieve all of this and much more.

Under the banner of a grassroots nonpartisan organization called Restore the Fourth, thousands will be gathering on the 4th of July in dozens of cities across the United States to demand an end to unconstitutional governmental surveillance programs that violate the 4th Amendment rights of Americans.

In New York City, 4th Amendment rights issues go well beyond those recently revealed unconstitutional NSA spying programs. In addition to the national goal of seeking an end to these programs, we demand New York City stop all search and surveillance policies that target groups based on their race, religion, or political views. We demand an end to "Stop and Frisk," which targets people of color across the city, and an end to the discriminatory surveillance of Muslim Americans by the NYPD.

The rally on the 4th of July will begin at noon around Union Square South. We will march to Federal Hall. Despite the fact a permit will not be filed for this march, it is the intention of Restore the Fourth that the march be nonviolent and lawful. Since we expect to have attendees from all backgrounds and age groups, we want this event be safe for everyone involved without the risk of police violence and arrest.

We request that you share with your friends our Restore the Fourth NYC Facebook page and Event page for the march:

In addition, we're holding organizational meeting on Wednesday, July 3rd, at 8:00pm in Washington Square Park by the Garibaldi statue on the East side of the park. We will discuss the direction of the movement in the weeks beyond the 4th of July as well as any last-minute details for the march.

We hope to see you at our meeting, and if not, at our rally to Restore the Fourth!

Liberate Space - July 4th - Cities Everywhere - Be Daring

In a few weeks, on July 4th we call on all individuals to blockade, disrupt and disobey the architecture of repression in their own cities. We act against the surveillance state not because it has overstepped an imaginary line, we rebel against it for the simple fact that it is designed to intimidate, imprison and demoralize us. We act against it because we know that politicians, corporations and the ruling class will never listen or change. We know that it is up to us to be disobedient, that direct action is the only road to freedom.

There is no better time than now to push forth an initiative which calls out the surveillance state for what it is; a web of police, prisons and politicians designed to protect the wealthy. At a time of upheaval and massive repression worldwide we don't ask for permission, we recognize that those who grant us permission are those that spy on us at the same time. The world we fight for is a world free from politicians, states and security agencies.

On July 4th we call on individuals and groups to gather in the busy thoroughfares, parks and squares in your town. We suggest an overnight occupation designed to call out and confront the means in which surveillance is carried out. This could simply be holding a sign in front of a camera, your tactics are only limited by creativity. It is important to not fall into the marching around in circles trap. We hold our space in a busy area on the 4th because this is where people, commerce and surveillance are.